Tag Archives: Job Search

Strategies for an effective job search in a tight economy

The economy isn’t the best that it’s ever been, but it’s also not the worst. And while the job prospects make look bleak, there are ways to turn any layoff or job loss into a career change for the better.

The first principle of finding a job is to advertise your qualifications and experience. Let employers know who you are and what you can do for them. In other words, send your resume to everyone that might need someone with your profile. There is no harm in sending your resume to even those employers who are not actively looking for people.

They may need your expertise at a later date.

Follow up the resume with a phone call to the hiring department of the company to see if the resume was received and if there is anyone that you can talk to about setting up an interview. At the very least, you might get an inside scoop on what positions are available so that you can talk to those departments directly.

Sometimes, it is worth the effort to go to the companies in person or set up appointments to talk to the head of the concerned department. Of course, this may not get you an instant job, but if you make a favorable impression on the department head, you stand a chance to be considered when they need to hire someone.

Networking is the best way to create job opportunities. Talk to everyone about your desire to find a new position. You’d be surprised how many people will be able to help you find something that works for you. Talk to friends and relatives. The more people are looking, the more able you will be to find something.

Remember, your resume is a window to your personality. So, try and make it as impressive and professional as you can. It’s a good idea to take the help of a professional resume writer or software program, and print it on high grade paper. It should be well worded, clean and readable, and should present you in a positive light.

While losing your job may have been expected, you never want to talk badly of your previous employers. In any future communications with job prospects, bring up all of the positive attributes of your prior jobs and only describe the challenges that you overcame while being employed.

The secret of finding a job is patience and perseverance. If you go about it the right way, soon you will be able to find someone who can see your worth and will hire you.

Top 40 Under 40 winners: Was an MBA worth it?

I have been reading a lot of articles and opinion pieces lambasting the value of an MBA. Here is another interesting article in the Globe and Mail with Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 award winners:

The decision to pursue an MBA is prompted by considerations as varied and numerous as the reasons for where you choose to do it, what you learn from it and the effect on your life and career as you study and after you graduate. For some of the high-achievers who’ve been on the Caldwell Partners International list of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, MBA school was a positive part of their education and experience. Why and where these past 40 Under 40 winners did their MBAs, what they took away with them and how they would advise future MBA prospects offer some insight. Read more here

New Brunswick minimum Wage hike will cost up to 7,000 jobs – report

A 10 per cent increase in the minimum wage will cost New Brunswick between 1,900 and 7,000 jobs, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

For that reason the provincial government should cancel the two planned increases in New Brunswick’s minimum wage this year, said Andreea Bourgeois, the federation’s New Brunswick director.

Small- and medium-sized businesses react to minimum wage increases by cutting back on staff hours, training or cutting positions, stated a 36-page study released by the federation Thursday. Read more of this story

Will tough economic times kill work-life balance?

Cue the National Post:

Our economic recession has created many workplace pressures, including long-term job security. Given the difficult economic times, many people are feeling the pressure to work harder than ever. In this climate, it may seem frivolous to talk about work-life balance. Yet, whatever the climate, don’t employers and executives have to demonstrate fairness? The greatest application of fairness is the allocation of time in our lives and what to do with that time. And we hear more and more people saying they are under pressure from employers, themselves and their families to keep up, often at the cost of life balance.

Read more:

Eight things your colleagues hate about you

Noted career expert Barbara Moses published an article in the the Globe and Mail today about personality types,  how they affect the workplace and how to navigate around them

Most of us have a personality trait or quirk that bosses and others have told us we need to change. Although we can’t significantly alter our underlying tendencies – such as sensitivity to criticism or shyness – we can modify how we come across to others.

Senior Executives Are Not Happy In Their Jobs

More than two-fifths of senior executives currently report job dissatisfaction, finds the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) latest BlueSteps Executive Satisfaction survey of 196 such executives worldwide during a 30-day period beginning in late January and ending in late February. Fifty-five percent of them have seen a reduction in their organizations revenue, including 20 percent of those surveyed who saw dramatic cuts in their staff. Tellingly, 18 percent report that their level of dissatisfaction stems from the way their company handled the layoffs that resulted from the recession, according to a press statement from the AESC.

Interestingly, 70 percent report that they are presently seeking employment elsewhere because of these conditions, a finding from the AESC’s research that appears to support data on CEO turnover gathered by Challenger, Gray & Christmas during a similar time period and reported by RecruitingTrends. Whilst we all understand the dramatic effects of the financial crisis on the senior executive job market, said BlueSteps Director Della Giles, in the same AESC press statement, “it is particularly shocking to see how executive job satisfaction has been shaken over the past 18 months. As the job market improves and new career opportunities emerge, we will certainly see an increase in executive mobility as these leaders move into more desirable positions.”